Pressure proof hull fitting



April 12, 1966 A. P. SIBOLD, JR

PRESSURE PROOF HULL FITTING Filed June 25, 1964 FIG. I.

FIG.2.

INVENTOR.

ARTHUR P. SIBOLD,J R.

BY 'l AGENT.

ATTY.

United States Patent 3,245,373 PRESSURE PROOF HULL FITTING Arthur P. Sibold, Jr., Alexandria, Va., assignor to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy Filed June 25, 1964,.Ser. No. 379,070 1 Claim. (Cl. 114-435) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

The present invention relates to towing apparatus for submerged vessels, and more particularly, relates to apparatus mounted in a submarine wall for enabling the launching, repair, and recovery of devices such as VLF communications antenna towed astern while the submarine is submerged.

In those situations Where it is desirable to have a communications device such as an antenna mounted for extension and retraction,through the walls of the submarine, it isnecessary, to provide means for prevention of undue leakage intothe personnel spaces of the submarine. Ihere a.re operational' situations where it is highly advantageous to have a retractable antenna which is towed by the submerged submarine at distances suf-- ficiently remote from the submarine so that noise emanated from the submarine does not interfere with the reception of signals by the cable antenna.

It is difiicult to provide an antenna which is not only retractable but which may be brought into the interior of the submarine While the submarine is underway and submerged. The reason for this difficulty is the danger of leakage as the cable is towed in and as the antenna is brought inside the submarine. Under the known prior art techniques, such as those employing an air locked tube or packing tube, one is confronted with the fact that ultimately, there is no pressure wall between the exterior and interior of the submarine when the antenna or other device attached to the end of the cable is brought into the submarine. The problem is to pass the device attached to the end of the cable thru the submarine walls without danger of leakage or differential pressure transients.

The foregoing difiiculties are overcome by the present invention which, briefly stated, provides in combination a solid line wiper attached to the inner door of a standard submarine signal tube. The signal tube has inner and outer Watertight doors. The solid line wiper provides a seal during actual retraction and extension of the cable. When it is desired to recover the antenna attached to the end of the cable, the antenna is brought into the signal tube. The outer watertight door of the signal tube is closed and the inner door then opened, thus allowing access to the antenna without leakage.

Accordingly, it is among the objects of the present invention to provide simple yet effective means for passing towable devices thru submarine pressure walls without danger of undue leakage and pressure translents; to provide safe and economical means for retraction and extension of devices towed by submarines, and to provide recovery means for enabling safe personnel access to devices towed from the submarine while the submarine is underway and submerged.

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference is made to the following specification and accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals indicate like parts and in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in modified cross section of the present invention illustrating antenna reception in the tube; and

FIG. 2 is a view in modified cross section of the invention illustrating the positions of the elements during cable retraction or extension.

Referring to FIG. 1, a submarine pressure hull has a wall portion 11 thru which a signal'tube 13 is watertightly passed. The exterior end of the tube 13 has an outer door or cover 15 which may be opened and closed from within the submarine in any suitable wellknown manner. The outer door 15 when closed forms a Water-tight and pressure-tight sealed closure for the tube 15. The outer door 15'preferably lies flush with the outer surface of the wall 11.

The portion of the tube 13 which extends inwardly of the wall 11 is supported in any suitable manner, as, for example, by supports 17 welded or bonded to the wall 11 and to the tube 13. I

The interior end of the tube 13 has an inner cap or 1 closure member 19 which may be of the threaded fastenmarine hull may be subjected.

er type and which, when brought home, provides with its O-ring seal 21, a watertight and pressure-tight seal for the tube. The tube 13 and closure 19 together are capable of withstanding all pressures to which the sub- The closure member 19 has a central opening therein for watertightly and pressure-tightly receiving one end of a device 23 known as a solid line wiper with hydraulic packing gland. Such a device is of well known construction such as type 19070 manufactured by Bowen- ITCO of Houston, Texas. The function of the solid line wiper 23 is to provide a watertight high pressure seal for a cable as the cable is passed in an axial direction therethrough. The solid line wiper 23 may be watertightly bonded to the cap or closure member 19 in any suitable manner.

A cable 25 has attached to its working end a signal receiving or sending device 27, such as, for example a VLF antenna, sonar transponder, TV camera, and the like. Of course, any other suitable devices which will fit within the tube 13 may be attached to the cable end, it being the usual case that such device has larger dimensions than the cable.

In FIG. 2, the outer door or cover 15 is shown in its open position with the cable 25 having been paid out so that the device 27 is towable at a suitable distance from the submarine.

In operation, assuming the towing mode shown in FIG. 2 to be the present condition, it may be desired to haul in the device 27 for repair or change thereof. This may may be carried out manually or by means of a winch operated by remote control.

Eventually, the device 27 is brought within the confines of the tube 13 as shown in FIG. 1. The outer Watertight door 15 is then closed, completely sealing off the confines of the tube 13 from the exterior water pressure. Next, the inner closure member 19 is removed thereby advantageously rendering the device 27 accessible without appreciably affecting the watertight integrity of the boat. The device 27 may be removed from the confines of the tube 13 as the inner closure member 19 is removed for repairs or for dismounting. Since a pressure withstanding wall is maintained at all times, this operation may be carried out while the submarine is underway and submerged at its operating depth. A different device may then be attached to the end of the cable 25 and the closure member 19 and solid line wiper 23 re-mounted watertightly on the tube 13. The outer door 15 may then be opened and the cable 25 paid out.

It is to be understood that the closure member 19 may be watertightly mounted on the tube 13 in alternative arrangements well known in the art, but different from the threaded fastening illustratively shown. The design of such arrangements depends primarily upon the size of the tube 13 which may be varied to suit the size of the devices 27 which may be operationlly deployed. For example, for large tubes, clamped cover plates may be employed to seal the inner end of the tube. For very small tubes, bayonet type fittings may be advantageously employed.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claim the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed is:

Apparatus for the retraction, extension, and recovery of a device attached to the working end of a cable thru the wall of a submerged towing vessel, said device being of larger transverse cross section than that of the cable, and said vessel being subjected to high hydrostatic pressures, comprising: 7

a tube watertightly extending thru the wall of the vessel and having wall capable of withstanding pressures to which the vessel maybe subjected;

interior support means for said tube;

an outer cover member for said tube mounted exte riorly thereof and movable to open and closed positions;

said cover having a conical shape to utilize the external pressure to improve the seal when seated in a mating conical shaped seat in the hull;

said outercover member having sufiicient strength to withstand pressures at all operating depths of the vessel;

an inner closure member for said tube and movable to open and closed positions;

said inner closure member when in its closed position watertightly sealing olf the vessel interior from said tube to withstand pressures at all operating depths of the vessel when said outer cover member is in its open position;

said inner closure member having a central aperture therein; and

means including a solid line wiper with a hydraulic packing gland watertightly mounted to the outside of said inner closure member for passing a cable watertightly through said aperture;

whereby the device maybe hauled infrom a towed position exterior of said vessel into the confines of said tube, and upon closing of the outer cover of the tube, the device may be recovered from the confines of the tube by opening said inner closure member.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,076,496 10/ 1 913 Grossich 114 16.7 1,673,791 6/1928 Boyron 114-16.7 1,721,039 7/1929 Risher 11416.7 2,375,299 5/ 1945 Hartnett' 11416.7 2,502,650 4/ 1950 Harris et a1. 244-1' 2,801,605 7/1957 Hoke 114'16.7

MILTON BUCHLER, Primary Examiner.

T. M. BLIX, Assistant Examiner. 

